6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
A ruthless spy known as "The Needle" is trying to get out of Britain back to Germany, with information to prevent the D-Day invasion.
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Kate Nelligan, Ian Bannen, Christopher Cazenove, Faith BrookThriller | Insignificant |
War | Insignificant |
Romance | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.84:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Richard Marquand's "Eye of the Needle" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Sandpiper Pictures. The supplemental features on the release include vintage trailer for the film and alternate ending. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The chameleon
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.84:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Eye of the Needle arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Sandpiper Pictures.
In 2018, we reviewed this Region-B release of Eye of the Needle produced by the British Film Institute. It was sourced from an older and quite inconsistent master that was supplied by MGM.
This recent release offers a slightly different presentation of Eye of the Needle, but it is again sourced from the same older MGM master. What are the discrepancies? They are small, mostly meaningless, and affect colors and gamma. In the darker areas, where the age and limitations of the master were most obvious on the previous release, on this release the visuals convey the same anomalies. Typically, grain struggles, easily becomes noisy, and flattens native detail. On the other hand, there are numerous close-ups that reveal good, often even very good delineation and clarity. However, there are different ranges of highlights that are rarely as convincing as they can be. Colors are stable. However, I feel very confident stating that a brand new properly graded 4K master will reveal healthier primaries and numerous expanded ranges of supporting nuances that will improve the dynamic range of the visuals as well. There are a few shaky transitions, but image stability is good. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
This lossless track is a replica of the one that was included on the Region-B release of Eye of the Needle, which is hardly surprising. While revisiting the film, I did not encounter any technical anomalies to report in our review. There might be some room for minor cosmetic improvements, such as rebalancing tweaks, but they will not alter substantially its quality.
I have tried multiple times over the years to like this film and it has never worked. I think that the original material from Ken Follett's bestseller was clearly mishandled by screenwriter Stanley Mann and director Richard Marquand and the end result isn't any better than what an overcooked period cable production typically offers. The entire second half is a classic example of how even very good actors can look mediocre because they were asked to work with a seemingly endless arsenal of awful cliches. Sandpiper Pictures' release is sourced from the same remaster that the BFI worked with to produce its Region-B release in 2018. Occasionally it can look decent, but ideally, the film should have a far superior appearance in high-definition.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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